Leaning Tower of Pisa. A Cup of Jo
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“Jeremy is in Japan for a month . . .
He is the only non-Asian in his group,
so we can find him easily in the group photos.”
– my first cousin (once removed). Houston, TX
Tag: family
where in the world is carmen sandiego?
- She’s Probably Moving. New York, NY
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Wow. Wow. Wow. So many things have happened in the past few days! I guess if I had to put together a what in the world has Amy been up to Top 5 List, it would probably look like this:
5. hung out with my sister who flew in from London
4. found a [fantastic, fun, clean, considerate, honest, gainfully employed] roommate
3. updated my address . . . a lot
2. tried Locanda Verde’s outrageously awesome breakfast
1. picked up the keys to my new apartment
Though there’s still absurd amount of things I need to pack / figure out / do between now and the big move, I feel pretty great that I’ve gotten a few of the major ones out of the way. Also, [shameless plug] if you live in New York and want to buy a GIANT couch, credenza, set of floor lamps, or a TV, just let me know before October 1st. Okay, now I really must get back to work ie obsessing over my upcoming move while attempting to read the entire internet . . .
Later!
my dad’s name is kimball.
Which, when you think about it, is a crazy awesome name for a dude. In addition having a kick-ass given name, my Dad also has a kick-ass recipe for banana bread called Kimball’s $500 Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. The $500 part comes from the fact that my Dad got the recipe on his high school graduation trip to Hawaii in 1967 and my grandparents liked to tease him that he was suckered into paying $500 (the cost of the trip) for a banana bread recipe. It’s been a staple feel good, taste good recipe in my family ever since and I recently made it for my office on the 1 year anniversary of my official start date (the Tuesday after Memorial Day). Judging from the multiple requests for a $500 encore, I’m pretty sure they thought it was kick-ass too. Here’s the recipe in all its glory in case you’re like me and have an undying love for bananas, chocolate, and simple carbohydrates:
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Kimball’s $500 Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed over-ripe bananas (from roughly 5-6 med/large bananas)
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9×5” loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift three times.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in beaten eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir wet mixture into flour mixture and then stir everything together just to moisten (don’t let it bubble). To jazz it up, you can now fold in ½ cup chocolate chips and/or ½ cup chopped walnuts to the mixture if you so desire. Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan (but no more than half full because the mixture rises as it bakes).
4. Bake for 60-65 min (until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean). Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 min and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Slice, Serve, and Enjoy!
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my Dad said you can pay him royalties later . . .
totally unmushy.
Wow. Seriously. Wow. I just got back from a week-long Sicilian adventure with my sister (she’s the lovely lady giggling with a lobster, not the child stabbing a jelly fish) and I’m officially obsessed. While I will never ever ever ever fly AirCanada again (a very long story involving almost all the employees at the Toronto airport, countless conversations with Indian call centers, a few tears, and a whole lotta borrowed underwear), the trip was beyond awesome. I’m currently missing Michele (pronounced Mee-Kell-eh, a dude to my surprise), the fabulous owner of the Isoco Guest House, like WOAH and I can’t stop smiling since my brain feels totally unmushy, maxing out with soo many funnies and funtimes. Unfortunately, I’m still a little hazy and jet-lagging hardcore, so a more detailed and adventure-laden post will have to follow later. For now, please enjoy the 4 course photo-meal I threw together with a few bits and bops that were just laying around. It’s seafood. See? Food!
sisters.
- Jenny and Amy. Houston, TX
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This picture of my big sister Jenny (she’s the one not eating candy) and me was taken in Stanley and Honey Epstein’s living room in Houston, TX. In order to open their garage door you had to know the secret password (open sesame) and be able to say to it at just the right time (approxamitely 2-3 seconds before Honey would hit the red button on the garage door opener). This photo makes me feel awesome and tingly. So does this article my sister sent me: